Mass Effect: Velvet
by Defiant-Candle
Summary: Re-imagined Paramour between Commander Shepard and Tali'Zorah. Shepard prepares for the suicide mission and flashes back to his most recent moments with Tali. Rate M for intiMacy and strong language
1. Chapter 1

**Mass Effect: Velvet**

I sigh with resignation as I look at the datapad, finishing my final report to Cerberus. I had already sent goodbye gifts to Councillor Anderson and Ambassador Udina- A duplicate of the model of the original Normandy ship to Anderson and a copy of Revelation and Criminal Negligence: The Citadel Council and the true story of the Geth Threat for Udina- no doubt Udina might already have a copy of Revelation and probably speed-read about a dozen times, but it was the thought that counts- it was that or buy him 'With Soft Shoe Number', the Broadway film about a Volus and an Elcor trying to make it in the big city on Earth. Amusing as the thought was, I had to respect Udina as a skilled diplomat and a political genius. An asshole of a diplomat sometimes, but a good diplomat none the less. No doubt he was having enough trouble being under Anderson's shadow as his assistant- No shame in cutting the guy a break at least.

Samesh Bhatia's restaurant on the Citadel has been given a thirty million credit endorsement from my personal accounts wired through by Cerberus. Liara T'Soni now has a pet Varren- I assured her that Urz would make a good guardian and was completely docile unless provoked- almost like a retired greyhound. Ashley Williams I sent a copy of the newly released book 'Second Chance' a romance between a bitter Turian and a prejudiced human, written by Krogan/Asari couple Charr and Ereba from Tuchanka. I smile inwardly as I remember convincing Ereba to get back together with Charr, telling her to give the love-struck Krogan a second chance. She had sent me a thank you message, stating that they have been travelling from one end of the galaxy to the other and were now expecting their first five children- I had spit my drink out after reading that part in surprise. Happy surprise of course.

Admiral Hackett himself stated in one of our informal conversations that he was a fan of hanar and alien action films- his idea of escapism apparently, much to my incredulity and later bemusement- so I sent him the Blasto the Hanar Spectre anthology. I hope he appreciates it.

Clan Chief Urdnot Wrex had been passed along a copy of the 'Art of War', an ancient military book written by human Sun Tzu since he was always curious to learn about human strategy and how we handled war ethics, giving him a new perspective in his goal to help stabilise the clans of Tuchanka. Finally, I privately requested with Captain Bailey to assist me in booking tickets for the Alliance 'Sights of the Universe Tour' for Thane and Kolyat Krios. If Thane survived the assault on the Collector base, he and his son deserved as much time together as possible before it would be too late for Thane to do anything. I hope that they will find time to reconnect during this. They deserved that much at least.

I also reserved an apartment for Justicar Samara on Omega- she herself had expressed her wish to return to there to help and protect the people in the slums on the asteroid city. I convinced Aria T'Loak to donate a little in her direction at least- which she agreed to do, so long as Samara didn't ruin any of her business in her quest for justice. Samara in return recognised her assistance to me in my mission to stop the Collectors and has agreed not to kill her, despite her apparent displeasure at Aria's unorthodox ways of keeping the people of Omega in line. I had sent Aria some star charts which led to some uncharted but safe and trustworthy 'hidey-hole' planets- should her position as ruler of Omega be threatened or usurped by rival gangs or the corrupt police that resided there. Should circumstance prevent her from retreating to any of these planets, she and her associates was always welcome to stay on the Normandy, provided that it survived the suicide mission of course. It was the least I could do- I wouldn't be half way through where I was now if Aria hadn't pointed me in the right directions to find Mordin and Garrus.

And yet now, as I prepare for the suicide mission, I can't help but tremble slightly from the awareness of the impending risks we are about to take. Adrenaline? Fear? If it is fear then what is it for?

Fear for myself?

Fear for the ship that might not survive the Collector onslaught and be obliterated before we even reach our destination, our bodies skewered by lasers or crushed in the vacuum of space?

Fear for my crew, whom I've worked so hard to gain their loyalty and help them with their troubles, all to be for nothing as they die one by one by the Collector's hands?

Fear for my friends, and that I will never see them again?

Fear for Tali- Stop it! I tell myself as I scratch myself between the eyes.

I won't let anything happen to her or anyone who is my friend or ally. Especially her.

I think back to one of my first conversation with Tali'Zorah, after her rescue from Haestrom.

"_Hey Tali."_

_She turns to me, a smile in her voice_

"_Shepard, what can I do for you?"_

"_I was just checking on you_, _seeing how you were, er, adjusting to the new Normandy."_

_She rests herself against the console as she speaks- "This ship is very well built. Cerberus have done a good job designing this ship. It runs much more smoothly than the old Normandy. Although, there are some problems with the shield boosting system."_

"_Anything serious?"_

"_Nothing bad, just some setbacks that might jeapardise the drive core if used in a firefight."_

_I look past her and at the console._

"_Is that a diagnostic there?"_

"_Oh-why um, yes."_

"_Let me see."_

_I was no master at tech, but I have enough average knowledge to help me see what was wrong with the shield generator as I walk up to the console and examine the display._

"_Ah I see whats wrong here. Not to worry, I can divert some time out of my assignments to do some resource probing on some uncharted planets. Palladium is what we need, something, what like oh, an extra thousand six-hundred units. That'll be enough for-" I turn to Tali, staring right at me the whole time i had been looking at the display. Her eyes widen and she looks away briefly then up at the console._

"_Yes, er, I see."_

_I frown slightly._

"_Are you, alright?"_

"_What ur no, no its just um,-Yes that would be a good idea to do so- I mean, if you can spare the time- unless you're busy." She's trembling slightly. Embarassment? Nervousness? I pretend not to take notice, but it, is noticed, very well._

"_Ok," I finish. I turn and begin to walk to the door into the hallway._

"_I have to go see Grunt- He's been throwing crates and head-butting windows like a rutting thresher maw. Wish me luck."_

"_Oh, er, ok, yes- I'll see you later?"_

_I nod and smile softly- "You can count on it."_

_My mind is fuzzy as I walk away, contemplating Tali's behaviour around me. Kelly had said something about her body language indicating that she wanted to be more than just friends. I put this in a corner of my mind as I head to the Port Cargo room. Maybe, she, knows? About what I feel- I push those thoughts aside for a moment, focussing on the task at hand_


	2. The Alarei

I stop and flash-forward to another memory, more recent

_Bullets from my Avenger streak into the Geth hunter trying to flank my squad and it falls dead. I sweep the area for any other Geth, then lower my weapon. The Alarei was close to a ghost ship, were it not already patrolled by active Geth squads. I had seen the recordings. Tali'Zorah's father, Rael'Zorah had been activating Geth parts and testing improvised weapons against them. For what goal this was intended to was yet to come to light. But as we stalked through the Alarei, killing geth left and right, it became apparently clear that not only was Rael Zorah playing with fire, but he was willing to put the lives of his entire crew for the sake of finding a way to reclaim their homeworld Rannoch from the Geth armada stationed there, and now Tali had been accused of sending active geth back to the Alarei in a bid to help her father with these 'harmless experiments- only parts and non-repairable pieces she said, and I believed her. _

_The whole thought was a crazy idea, a reckless and potentially bad idea that could end with much bloodshed with the Quarians even if they were able to defeat the Geth. Upon voicing my opinion, Tali had strongly opposed it , stating that she would do anything to set foot on the surface of her homeplanet without needing a suit, as adapting to a new planet would take too long for them to do so. 'The difference between 60 years and 600,' she stated. She talks about touching flowers and inhaling their scent, something that we can do that her people could not. She insisted that we carry on, and I decided to leave the subject alone. It was too sensitive, to politically volatile, to discuss the ethics of war against the Geth in such a critical time, when Tali could face exile from her own clan. I stride through the doorway and into the room at the bottom of a stairway. I look down and see another Quarian body. This one looked different from the others. Colourings of sash and suit indicate that he is an admiral. I scan him with my omni-tool for I.D., and freeze as a name appears upon my data display. Rael'Zorah._

"_Oh no." I murmur._

"_Area clear." I hear Tali's voice behind and I turn to her._

"_Tali.."_

"_What is it. Who is it?" she demands to know as she fast-approaches me, looking past me. I relucatantly step aside._

"_I.." I cannot finish. She pushes past and stops._

_I look at her as she stares, expressionless behind her visor._

_Then, a wrenching cry pierces through the dusty air as she screams out her pain through her helmet. Distraught, she sinks to her knees, arms up, hands indecisive to hug herself or touch the body in front of her._

"_Father." She shakily whimpers, her body begins to tremble, then she starts to cry. I kneel down beside, the sight of her in distress too much for me and I slowly, grab her shoulders. Her speech is unintelligible, raw grief reducing her words to babbling as I pull her closer to me, hugging her._

"_Shh shh shh- hey, come here, it's ok- I've got you, it's alright."_

_She says nothing, but continues to cry and sob helplessly into my chest as I gently rock her, warming her as much as I can through my armour. She pulls away briefly, slightly, her voice settled enough to speak._

"_You wouldn't just die like this." She weeps to her dead father, head lowered in sorrow- "You wouldn't leave me here-" her sobs become too strong for her to control and she rests against me again._

"_Damn it. Damn it!" she curses shakily- "I'm sorry-" continuing to sob._

"_There, there, you've got nothing, nothing to be sorry about." I make a kissing sound as I touch my mouthpiece to her head._

_I hold her for what felt like seconds but actually minutes, shushing and murmuring to her. Rubbing her arms and reassuringly. Doing what I can. Eventually I hold her and ask_

"_How do you feel? Can you stand?"_

_She nods slowly and I lift her by the arms, gently to her feet. _

"_You think he might have left something, maybe something for others to find?" I ask gently_

"_Yes, -sniff- maybe he left a message, he must have known that, maybe I would come…_

_She activates her omnitool and her fathers. A green hologram appears and his crackly speech echoes through the hall way_

"_Tali, I'm so sorry that I got you involved with this. I never planned for this to happen. I love you so much Tali, and I'm so, so sorry that I've never used every opportunity I had to tell you this. You've done nothing but make me proud at everything I have asked you to do. If you are seeing this, then I am already dead…."._


	3. Trial by Fire

More memory flashes. Finding the data. Feeling a Geth Primes bullet slice through my leg and leaving me with an odd gait for the rest of my life. Feeling rage at the injustice that Tali's father was putting her through. I think back to the trial…..

"…_.You're not really interested in Tali are you? This trial is about the Geth, not her!" Admiral Zaal'Koris steps back, the accusation hitting hard. "What, how-"_

"_And you!" I point at Han'Gerrel- "You want to go to war with the Geth."_

"_How by Keelah is this relevant to any"_

"_Tali here knows more about the Geth than anyone else alive, and much more than you do. You should be listening to her , not putting her on trial. You had this trial put forward to cover up your experiments on the geth, so that you can go to war with them._

_Words fail Han'Gerrel and I continue, my anger building. I address the whole admiralty board._

"_This whole trial is sham. Look at your admiralty board!" I yell at the crowd, waving emphatically- "claiming to be united but divided by petty infighting and squabbling amongst themselves."_

_Voices begin to raise, mostly in agreement. A good thing. _

" _None of you care about Tali, only about how the war with the Geth sways to your plans! You would betray one of your own people in your machinations to ensure that your plans for a suicidal campaign to retrieve Rannoch from the Geth go unchallenged."_

_I think about Tali weeping over the body of her dead father. My hands become fists._

"_You can do whatever you want with you ships and your military, but you leave the woman I lo-" I stop myself, regaining control just in time. The crowd grows silent, gasps of shock whispering through their masks. Even I am surprised, but then compose myself._

"_You leave Tali'Zorah out of your political bullshit!" I hiss venomously at the stunned Quarians._

_There is silence as the admirals comprehend this. Zaal'Koris is the first person to make the mistake of speaking to me._

"_You go too far, human." He speaks in a threatening tone. " I will see you escorted off this ship for inappropriate conduct and-"_

_He doesn't finish. I whip my pistol from my belt, incendiary ammo flaring to life on the weapon display and aim it at Zaal'Koris's head, ignoring the crowd and Tali's pleas._

"_You just fucking try it." I speak coldly._

_Zaal'Koris pisses himself, then cries out pitifully for help; "Guards! Guards!_

"_Enough!"_

_Even I am shocked to hear Admiral Shala'Raan shout. Everyone falls silent._

"_I believe that Commander Shepard has made a strong point about Tali's loyalty to the Fleet and to the Quarian people."_

_I slowly lower my pistol and holster it, staring daggers at Zaal'Koris._

"_Tali has done nothing but fight for every sentient being in the galaxy in the mission to stop Saren, Quarians and aliens alike. She assisted Captain Shepard in saving the Citadel from the Geth and therefore has proven herself as a loyal member of the Quarian race. As Shepard himself previously stated, Tali has indeed shown the galaxy the true value of the Quarian people."_

_Han'Gerrel nods wearily in agreement. Daro'Xen simply stands with her arms crossed. Zaal'Koris lowers his head. The Admiralty Board had reached their verdict. They lift their arms and tap their omnitools to activate their holodisplays_

_Later….._

_I walk away from the pod and stop, head hanging, fatigued, guilty._

_Behind me Tali'Zorah remains silent. She goes to speak but I stop her._

"_Tali, I,….I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my personal feelings get in the way of all this." I pause, not intentionally waiting for her to speak. I continue. "I made a fool of myself by reacting to my heart rather than my head, I …., I'm surprised they were still willing to not exile you after my, display."_

_She nods,slowly._

"_I just…..After seeing you, traumatised, by your father's death and the admiralty board still willing to condemn you I, I let myself go at that moment. And when I pulled my gun out."_

_I stop. This is pathetic. I lift my head and look at her with defeat in my eyes._

"_I cannot properly excuse myself, or my actions."_

_I turn to walk away, but am stopped by Tali grabbing my arm. I look at her and am surprised to see her fold her arms around my body, hugging me like I did on the Alarei._

"_It's ok, Shepard." She stands back and looks at me, her eyes like diamonds, sparkling with love._

"_Thank you. For helping me on the Alarei, with my father and me."_

_I sigh in relief as she continues- "And thank you for defending me so….I've never had anyone speak like that on my behalf."_

_I __nod, smiling softly behind my mask__._

"_Besides, it's fun watching you shout."_

_I laugh, something unexpected for me and she laughs too. It's a good feeling and her laughter is, sweet to hear. I calm myself and ask- "So what do you want to do with your father?"_

_She settles down and answers- "They'll have a morgue somewhere to prepare the bodies for their funeral. I'll ask that we postpone the burial until I return from our mission."_

_She stops and concludes- "If we do return."_

_I put my arm around her shoulder._

"_We will."_

_We walk to Veetor and Kal'Reegar to say our good byes. Shala'Raan blesses us before we leave, praying for a safe return from our mission._


	4. Talks

I breathe upon reflex and wander to another memory, the images fresher as they become more recent. A day after the trial.

_I enter the passage leading to the drive core, take a deep breath. I'm done delaying, I tell myself. I straighten up and walk up to Tali'Zorah._

"_Tali."_

"_Oooh!" she exclaims as she whirls around to greet me, surprised to see me at such an unexpected time. I am confused. Was it my voice that startled her? What is it about me that makes her so hesitant._

_Does she have the same feelings about me as I do for her-I focus and smile, friendly and informal. I see her eyes- her eyelids are lowered slightly, groggy- was she ok?_

"_Shepard! I didn't expect you- you nearly gave me a jump- I thought you were Grunt."_

"_I think you would heard him long before you saw him." I smile, eyebrows raised in a relaxed but amused way._

"_Ah." She replies dipping her head. I crease my eyelids with concern, bending down to get a better look at her face._

"_Are you ok? Your eyes-" I raise my hand, something I immediately regret doing yet continue anyway, lifting up her face. She doesn't resist. Part of me wants her too, like I was violating her in some way._

"_I'm, I'm fine I just- I've got a small fever- nothing serious."_

_I lower my hand as she continues to look at me. "What happened? How did you get sick." I try not to make it sound like I'm worried but my voice betrays me as concern strains my speech._

"_It's nothing- I got sloppy doing repairs to my suit. I took a hit while we were on the Alarei"_

_On the- damn it, why didn't I see that-"You should have told me- I would have helped."_

"_Really, Shepard, I didn't want to slow all of you down just because of a wound the equivalent of a 'booboo'"- I chuckle a bit when I hear this.- "Besides I was able to seal off the injury using my suit. Our immune systems, weak as they are, are more than strong enough to handle a stray bit of bacteria. This isn't even an illness really, more like, an acute allergic reaction." She finishes._

"_Damn." I speak. "Your people must be pretty comfortable with your suits. I can cope with putting on a full suit of battle armour but to live in one my whole life? God, I, I can't imagine it."_

_She nods understandably- "And hopefully you never have to. We're in our suits even amongst family. Our immune systems means that we must limit any body contact we have with one another outside our suits."_

_She pauses long enough for me to process this, and then continues._

"_The most intimate thing we can do with another Quarian link our suit environments. We step into a specially built clean room or inject our bodies with immuno-boosters or anti-biotics and then remove our suits. We get sick at first and then we adapt. It is, our most important gesture of trust and acceptance."_

_I nod, a slight thought dawning inside my head that this was starting to lead somewhere. I don't notice. _

"_Go on."_

"_Well, it's a sacred and pivotal act in our relationship. I myself, haven't trusted anyone I've ever met for that though,except for yo- um well, no Quarians- um, well, you know what I mean"- She hastily finishes._

_I frown, puzzled. I've always been slow when it comes to women, yet it doesn't dawn on until three seconds passed. It felt like minutes. _

"_Wait." Tali looks up when I speak, and I can swear that her skin seems a bit more, colourful than before, and that was saying something considering how misty her visor was._

"_Are you saying that, you trust me, enough to,- are you suggesting something?" My question is blunt, forceful, accusing and I take it back immediately as her head dips submissively. God you stupid idiot what kind of man do you take yourself to be- I shake my head to clear the thoughts, focussing on Tali as she begins to grip her hands nervously._

"_I…..I didn't mean to- it's just that the tradition is done only when two quarians, urm er" she stutters- "love, each other and well, want to be together," she blurts out awkwardly and loudly, attracting the attention of engineers Kenneth and Gabby._

"_It, the tradition, ur signifies a willingness for erm, intimacy!" She finishes, eyes wide open, fidgeting and deeply embarrassed after her shout-out. There is an uncomfortable silence. Gabby hisses at Ken to keep working and ignore them. Tali hides her face. _

_Suddenly there is the sound of chuckling that weaves through the air. I realise it's me laughing. Tali puts up her hand towards her visor. "Oh Keelah, how did we end up talking about this…."_

_I shake myself, realising my cruelty and look up back at her. I sigh, then speak._

"_Well, that was the most interesting pass someone's ever pulled on me."_

"_No I didn't mean, er I- damn." Tali gives up and lowers her head, shoulders slumped._

"_I'm, I'm sorry."_

_I lift my arm and touch her right shoulder, stroking her as tenderly with my fingers as I can. She looks at my hand, arm, then at my face, her eyes registering surprise and shock in the same expression. I softly speak to her, smiling lightly._

"_Don't be."_


	5. Reflections

I am in bliss as I recall the beautiful memories. Another flash. More fresh, two days after we talked.

"_Commander," Yeoman Kelly Chambers speaks to me as I walk out the elevator- "Tali would like to speak with you privately." I nod at the yeoman and before she can say more I have already made a U-turn and ordered the elevator to go to the engineering deck. Anything she has to say to me is important. I cannot think, only dreaming endlessly about her sweet voice. I rush out, then stop. I brush myself off then continue calmly to the room where Tali works. She turns around as the door opens. She was inspecting me of course_

"_You wanted to see me?"_

_She nods slightly. "Yes." She beckons and I follow her to the drive core maintenance platform. I step to one side of the platform as Tali walks over to the other._

"_I've, been thinking about the last time we talked." She starts._

"_I'm, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking rationally when I said, well what I said in our conversation. I was being selfish and stupid."_

_I shake my head. She was putting herself down for only being herself. She spoke on impulse and shouldn't be ashamed for admitting her feelings._

"_Tali, you have never been selfish. If anything, you are the only person more concerned with everyone else on this ship than Kelly Chambers. You've spent more time thinking about the Fleet and your people, rather than yourself."_

_She looks up and replies-_

"_I can see how this matters to humans, but we Quarians, we're different. We have to think of other people, always. Our race wouldn't exist today if we didn't account for our fellow people. We need to think of others," She emphasises- "Always. If not then, people could get sick or wounded beyond healing,"_

_She looks in the direction of Ken and Gabby, back at me._

"_Maybe even killed. I, I can't just let my feelings for yo- my feelings, jeopardise this mission."_

_I nod slowly then perk up._

"_So you do have feelings for me."_

_Eyes widening in alarm, she jolts up._

"_I didn't mean to say…Oh keelah. I've gone and done it again."_

_I could watch her trip over herself for hours, but I decide not to. I slowly take a step towards her._

"_Tali, I can understand why you are deciding against this. Really, I do. I know you're scared of your feelings and what they might do to you and you have good cause to do so. I was aware of this myself." I stop , a foot away from her._

"_That was why I didn't approach you when we were hunting Saren."_

_Tali looks up. Her expression is priceless- she was not expecting that._

"_You…You mean….."_

_I close the gap and take her hands in mine, caressing them. She had to know._

"_Tali, I've had feelings for you ever since we first met. No matter how hard I tried to prevent myself or put my mind on anything else, you were the only person who I couldn't stop thinking about on the first Normandy."_

"_Ooh.." She breathes shakily through her visor. She starts to tremble slightly again, breathing more loudly._

"_Wha-What about Ashley, or Liara? Both showed signs of….interest in you."_

_I shake my head subtly. "Ashley Williams was a xenophobic and that always pissed me off too much to ever find any common ground with her. Liara was, nice, but I didn't like the idea of being with someone who could outlive me."_

"_Oh. I can, see where you are coming from." She cocks her head to one side as she takes it in._

"_I always thought you and her were together- the way she always pretended to be sick to try and get you to 'check-up' on her…"_

"_Pretended?" I look at her with a frown. "Tali, she was genuinely ill. It was the cipher in my head that kept giving her headaches and light-headedness!" I say, mildly exasperated._

"_Oh, oh right sorry." She meekly apologises._

"_It's ok."_

"_It's just, well, I always thought she used her mind-melding to occasionally to well, bond with you more."_

"_Ah." I muse as I think back to the times when Liara always asked to gaze into my mind to make sense of the Prothean visions in my head._

"_Well, she did do that a lot. And some of the time I often thought that she was playing it up- some of the time she just didn't sound convincing at all, especially with that mumbo-jumbo about my 'superior mind'."_

_Tali giggles cutely- "Shepard that's cruel of you to say that!"_

"_What? I'm just saying…" as I chuckle like an idiot_

_My God, the sound of Tali's voice._

_It's, like a lullaby sung by angels_

_I can't help but smile as she continues to laugh._

_I want to make sure she's always laughing. Always happy._

_Her laughter subsides, and she looks back up at me._

"_So…"_

"_So…" I reply._

"_You've been in love in with me ever since you saved me from Saren's assassins in that back alley two years ago?"_

_My heart jolts. I'm flying but I play it down._

"_I never said anything about being in love." I smile playfully._

_Tali's eyes could have popped out of her head were it not for her visor._

"_I…, Oh Keela-." She stops herself. "I say that too much." She is growing hesitant. Looking around, somewhere to retreat, somewhere to hide. I don't want her to hide from me anymore. Not after what she just said. My hand slowly moves to her elbow._

"_Tali, for too long, you've been hiding under the shadows of the people in your crew and family. I 've been with you for a year before I died and I've seen you, always looking at me when you thought I wasn't, always pining for opportunities to be with me and 'accidentally' bumping into me on the ship everywhere I went."_

_Tali looks down at my hands, her three fingers nestling my hands in hers. "I didn't want to be away from you. I couldn't stand it." She looks back up at me and I feel weak as her starry-eyes sparkle as tears appear to fall down her cheeks._

"_Every time I summoned the courage to tell you what I felt, I always felt too embarrassed or ashamed to actually do it. Then the Collectors came and took you away from me." She sobs, her emotions taking her toll- "And I've cursed myself for every opportunity I've wasted, no telling you that I loved you!"_

_My face feels hot as a tear burns down my cheek. I rub her arm, comforting her._

"_Tali, I don't want you to feel embarrassed whenever you are around me anymore. I don't want you to feel ashamed every time we talk, or touch, or do anything together. I don't want you to feel in anyway, in any shape or form bad or foolish or inadequate when you are with me."_

_Tali sighs shakily and blinks away her tears. She reaches up and wipes my face with one finger. _

"_So what do you want me to feel?" she asks. I move my grip of her hand to her face. _

_I place both of my hands either side of her helmet, and even though she cannot feel it, nor return it, I lean forward, gently pulling her face towards mine and kiss her near the bottom of her visor. I remain there for what seems like forever, then pull away, living a 'lip-print' on there that stains her visor. I draw back slightly and then place my forehead against the domed glass of her murky visor and she leans her head forward, doing the same. I whisper softly to her._

"_I want you to feel my love."_


	6. Velvet

I feel tears welling in my eyes. I look around in time to hear Tali step forward. She had entered my quarters without me noticing.

We had talked about, becoming intimate, our feelings for each other proved to be too strong for hugs and un-returnable kisses. She had stated that as much as she wanted to feel my skin against hers, her immune system had given her cause for concern. She wanted to prepare herself. She had stated that she could die if we were together, but then she added that she was already dead without me. I took every precaution as recommended by our good doctor, Professor Mordin to decontaminate myself and the quarters. If she was going to be with me, I would see to it that she would never come to harm ever again.

The last time we talked was hours before the Collectors attacked our ship and kidnapped my crew. Yeoman Chambers, Gabby and Ken, Gardner, all gone. Now the suicide mission had become a rescue mission. As if the pressure about saving the galaxy wasn't high enough.

"So, I took some antibiotics as well as, some herbal supplements that should bolster my immune system." She walks slowly up to me, her hand reaching for my datapad and putting it down on the desk.

"I was going to bring music, but I didn't know what you'd like, and I'm babbling like an idiot."

"Damn, you thought of everything." I smile, rubbing her side.

"Please, I- I love it when you joke, but, I want our time together, to mean something. To mean, everything. I want to be serious."

"Ok." I say, continuing to rub her body as her hands start to do the same.

"Let's be serious then."

I rub my face against the side of her helmet, her shawl, her neck. She returns the gesture, rubbing against my neck. She stops, then holding my hand we walk to my bed.

"I, I want this to work, so much. I've, I have thought it over, and I've minimised the risks,"

"Mmhm."

"But I'm still nervous." She begins to speed up her speech, trembling slightly again- "And that always makes me talk too much- it's a defense mechanism and it's stupid, because, people who see the helmet"- We sit on the bed, Tali shaking her head in worry.

"Can't see my expression so I have to make it clear-"

I caress her helmet, then with both hands gently pull her visor away from her face, making the top of her shawl fall on her eyes.

Her hands reach up, gripping mine as I remove her mask, still unsure- wanting to stop me from seeing her, but eventually relents. I look away to set the mask on a nearby chair, and then back at Tali's face.

"-what I'm, what I'm, feeling."

I lift up the shawl and over her head, unveiling her face like that of a bridesmaid.

I stop.

I am speechless.

I can't breathe for a second.

She is …..

Her eyes, smalls balls of white, blinking.

Eyelids peppered with small eyelashes.

Her skin, pale lavender, with a hint of blue. Faint blood vessels across her face. Slightly grey.

Her noise, normal shape, slightly petite.

Her mouth, lips. Darker shade of lavender. Teeth, white with a hint of grey.

Hair, dark –coloured. Short and trimmed. Perfect.

I can make out irises in her shining eyes, supreme pearl white upon dimmer, less brighter white.

Oh my god.

I'm breathing now. Heavily, deeply gasps for air. She is doing the same.

I move to kiss her. She looks to do the same.

Instead she pounces.

I am pushed back onto the bed, my heart in an unstoppable tremor as our lips are locked in a powerful embrace. She's growling, her throat that made me shiver with quiet ecstasy every time she played up her accent in her speech when she flirted with me, now hums with the noise of a feral animal. I enjoy it and respond in kind, moaning. Her hands become claws that sink into my shoulders as we kiss each other like long-lost lovers. I caress her, rubbing her back, rubbing her ass, rubbing her shoulders. We stop, our frantic rhythm subsiding and we use this opportunity to undress. Her expression as she fumbles to loosen her suit, watching me as I slip off my garments, evident with need and passion. I strip, my shirt off and hear more hisses as she slowly but surely removes parts of her suit. Her leg garments fall off and she is about to remove her shoulder section when I stop her.

"Let me do it."

She opens her mouth, then closes it, pristine lips resting on top of one another. She is a Goddess. I press and turn, loosening the seals until her shoulder parts fall off and I see her upper back.

_She looks so fragile_

I undo the clasps on her mid-section, torso and lower back. The sections fall, gently hitting the floor. She slowly turns around.

Her naked image is more beautiful, more elegant, more streamlined then I could have imagined. Carefully she reaches and undoes the final seal, concealing her breasts. She looks up, not bothering to grab it and put the part down, preferring instead to let it fall.

"My God" escapes my lips before I can stop myself as I gaze dumbstruck at her exotically shaped body, so human like in its appearance.

She blinks and smiles, blushing and I am treated to a sight that only in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such a beauty

It is beyond describing as Tali'Zorah, naked and confident walked up to me, pressing her lithe form against mine, flesh against my sweating chest.

"You see me now." She speaks, her sweet voice unfiltered by her mask. I take her in my arms.

"I've always seen you, Tali'Zorah."

She giggles soflty and we kiss again, before descending onto the bed. I stand up as she lies on the bed, her legs curled and her expression wanton. I remove my socks, then my trousers. Then my boxers. I lower myself to her body and we kiss, more passionately, but gently.

"Now," I look into her white eyes as I speak, "How to begin?" Putting on a suggestive tone to my speech as I rub her body.

"Why don't you go first." Tali grins and I almost finish prematurely from hearing her sultry voice and seeing her smile so seductively. I control my urges, then reach down with one hand to her intimate area.

"Why don't we start with, this?" I tenderly and yet firmly place two of my fingers inside her.

She moans, back arches and looks back at me, growling so sexually and before I realise it, she is grabbing my member and is beginning to rub it fervently. I grunt and make an effort to stop myself from ending too soon. Clumsily we kiss and our ministrations of love continued in our long passionate and erotic tangle, wrestling for release and dancing to the heart fire of our impulses.

Bodies combined, her velvet skin against mine.

Perfect.


	7. Update

Update-

Hi readers- this is Defiant Candle.

In case you haven't read my profile, I am deleting my profile and stories, so if you like you can copy this story and keep it yourself. If you want to use these stories, that is fine, as long as you credit me as the original author of the story.

I hope you enjoyed reading this story and that if you do keep it you enjoy it even more. It's been nice to know I had fans who liked my stories and reviewed them. Please review all the stories that you personally like and compliment the author for giving you such an amazing story. It means to them and motivates them to write more. Be gentle with your criticisms, and bottom line, if you have issue with their choice of action and style of writing and what they do with the story and characters, simply don't read it. Much less stressful.

Thank you for your support over the years- Means a lot

I've already deleted some of my stories from my account- if you want any of them just PM my account with your request and email address and I will get them to you shortly

Thanks again

Zach


End file.
